A Span of Time
by hummerhouse
Summary: With each passing interaction, they draw closer to each other. Giftfic one shot. Pairing: Leatherhead/Donatello. Cover image created by the amazing MomoRawrr. 2nd Place in the TMNT Universal Reader's Choice Awards 2017: (Mature Ballot) Most Sensual Canon Character (Leatherhead)


His sense of loss had been absolute.

In a short span of time everything he knew was gone, the family he loved transported to another world.

He had no home, no family, no friends. There was nothing to alleviate the ache in his heart.

Roaming the sewers he finally came upon a place that he could inhabit. He would not call it his home because his family was not there. It was simply a temporary laboratory.

He had never known such loneliness. Day and night ran together without meaning.

Then he met someone. A human, the first with whom he'd had real contact since becoming sentient. This human exhibited an intelligence that was relatable.

The human, who introduced himself as Baxter Stockman, was as mutated as he, only in a different way. Stockman had no body of his own, only a robotic spider form that was a marvel of ingenuity.

Stockman had not explained how he'd come to possess such a form. What he did express was a desire for his lost human body.

Leatherhead could understand that type of longing. They struck a deal; Leatherhead would provide Stockman with an Utrom body and Stockman would assist him in building a Transmat.

During their time together, Leatherhead learned that Stockman had enemies. Traitors who had sabotaged the TCRI building, who had destroyed the Transmat, and who had caused the Utroms to leave.

The information enraged Leatherhead and he had readily agreed to help Stockman create a mechanized guardian. Looking back upon it, Leatherhead realized how gullible he had been.

Then Leatherhead had met the turtles. In a single afternoon he had learned that it was Stockman who was the traitor. Stockman who had worked for his most hated enemy, the Shredder.

Stockman had gone berserk then and destroyed the laboratory. As the ceiling began to cave in, Leatherhead used his great strength to stop its fall so that his new friends could escape.

The turtles had shown Leatherhead a concern for his well-being that he recognized as genuine. They had tried to save him but in that moment, Leatherhead's sense of loss had been too overwhelming. He preferred death to a life without his family.

His wish for sweet oblivion was not granted. Leatherhead was found by someone perhaps more evil than the Shredder.

Stockman had been a megalomaniac. Agent John Bishop was a sociopath.

The torture and suffering that Leatherhead endured at the hands of Bishop was beyond description. It went on for seemingly endless days, until Leatherhead reached a point where his mind had to shut down in order to protect itself.

He was barely conscious, barely even alive, when the turtles found him and set him free.

After it was all over, Leatherhead went to live with the small mutant family. He had thought his fondness for the brothers to be meted out in equal portions, but it was not long before he knew that was not so.

Because they had much in common, Leatherhead came to think of them as his family. They supported him, even when the rages overtook him, even after he'd nearly killed Michelangelo.

When he refused to endanger them by remaining in the lair, Donatello had found a place for him to live. It was a wonderful place; secluded, dry, and large. It was as though Donatello had looked into his damaged mind to see what Leatherhead needed the most. An environment in which he would not feel suffocated.

Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo were like brothers to him, but his feelings for Donatello soon transcended what he felt for the other three turtles. Though Michelangelo had befriended him first, it was Donatello who was Leatherhead's greatest comfort.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

During that horrific time in the world that Draco and the Daimyo's son had sent him to, Donatello learned of the fate of his father and Casey Jones. There was one question he had feared to ask; one answer he was not sure that he wanted.

On the eve of their attack upon the Shredder's stronghold, and unsure of his own future, Donatello had finally made his inquiry.

"What about Leatherhead?" Don asked.

From the looks his brothers had given each other, it appeared that they too had feared that question. It was Leonardo who had finally cleared his throat to answer.

"He never stopped looking for you," Leo said, his voice low. "When we finally gave up on ever finding you, Leatherhead couldn't. He wouldn't."

"One day he just disappeared," Raphael said. "Like you did. We never knew what happened."

"I wanted to believe that he'd found you and that you were together," Michelangelo said. "At least then Leatherhead would finally be happy."

In his heart, Donatello knew that no version of him in any timeline would ever abandon his brothers. Now he knew that Leatherhead would never abandon him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as the sound hit his sensitive hearing, Leatherhead knew it was the work of Agent Bishop.

He'd seen the rats scurry from his home, the little creatures frantic and in pain. If the sound effected them in such a way, Leatherhead could well imagine what it was doing to Master Splinter.

Donatello had given Leatherhead a shell cell, and though driven nearly mad by the horrid noise, he activated the tracking beacon. It showed him where Donatello was and that he was in motion.

Leatherhead wanted to run from the sound but out of fear for his friends' safety he battled his own instincts. He followed Donatello's signal, running as fast as he could through the sewers. He knew that Agent Bishop had driven the turtles above ground on purpose. Leatherhead had no reason to trust Agent Bishop's motives.

When the tracking signal stopped, Leatherhead raced for the surface, frantic that he might be too late. He very nearly was; as he burst into the open the first thing he saw was his friends lying on the pavement, all of them as still as death. _Donatello_ as still as death.

Soldiers stood over them, guns pointed at the helpless turtles. A rage that surpassed any that Leatherhead had ever experienced overcame him in that moment. His attack was swift and it was merciless.

Leatherhead never told the brothers exactly how he had purchased their freedom that day. There had been a much more pressing and urgent matter to attend to once they had awakened from the gas that had rendered them unconscious.

Finding and freeing Master Splinter had been the only things on their minds and afterwards, no one thought to ask how Leatherhead had gotten the turtles away from Agent Bishop.

Later, when it was all over, Donatello had taken Leatherhead aside and thanked him privately for what he had done for them. Leatherhead would gladly have destroyed an entire army of Bishop's men just to enjoy the gentle caress of Donatello's hand upon his face once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Master Splinter had told the turtles of his vision, of Master Yoshi's wish, there had been no question that they would act upon it.

Preparing a plan and defining each of their roles had required careful thought. Don knew from the very first that he should be paired up with Leatherhead. He had spoken up quickly to ensure that it would be so.

"Leatherhead and I could infiltrate the tunnels below Shredder's mansion", Don said. As an afterthought he added, "Professor Honeycutt would be with us so that we can hack into the internal systems."

Leo had given him a look, just a brief one, before agreeing that it was a good idea. The look was enough to let Don know that his oldest brother had guessed something about the genius' feelings for Leatherhead.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leatherhead was standing to one side, waiting as the rest of the team prepared to leave the lair, when Raph sauntered up next to him.

"Ya' got my brother's back, right LH?" Raph asked.

"Always," Leatherhead promised.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The fight with the Shredder had turned into a three-way match between the mutants, Shredder's Foot clan, and Agent Bishop's forces.

Leatherhead's animosity towards Bishop was only eclipsed by the croc's hatred of the Shredder.

The mission called for the annihilation of the Shredder and that was where Leatherhead placed his focus. He'd gotten his hands on his most hated enemy too, until Hun had intervened.

Leatherhead had not seen the turtles again after falling into the depths of the cavern, locked in combat with Hun.

What Leatherhead _had_ seen was the star ship take off. When in the aftermath of the battle he had not been able to locate the turtles, Leatherhead had known that they were aboard that ship.

The sadness he had felt at losing his Utrom family was nothing compared to the despair he experienced at the idea of losing Donatello.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There really was only one thing they could do. Don accepted it. Their lives in exchange for millions.

Professor Honeycutt began the sequence that would overload the power core controlling Shredder's star ship.

Don's last thought as it exploded was that he wished he could have gotten to say goodbye to Leatherhead.

Turned out that he didn't have to.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A secondary mutation.

Trapping Donatello inside the containment unit was the first step in their attempt to save him, but Leatherhead felt like a traitor to his . . . friend. He had no right to call him anything more, no matter how desperate he had always been to do so.

That gentle soul with the incredible mind was doomed if Leatherhead and the turtle brothers could not figure out how to save him. Leatherhead spent hours scouring through Donatello's research. He also spent hours standing in front of the containment unit, fighting down a panic like none he'd ever felt.

If not for his desperation to save Donatello, Leatherhead would never had agreed to Leonardo's plan to petition Agent Bishop for assistance.

The evil villain had agreed to save Donatello, but at a price.

While Donatello's brothers risked their lives to deliver their part of the bargain, Leatherhead learned that Agent Bishop had lied. He had no cure.

In the end it was Leatherhead who had developed the cure, thanks to the research Donatello himself had done. When turtle brothers handed over the relic they'd been sent to collect, Agent Bishop had given them fifteen minutes to heal Donatello and get out.

Otherwise they would all be blown to bits.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Donatello stepped out of the containment unit, his head spinning and his body weak. The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Leatherhead.

He wasn't exactly sure what had happened to him, nor did he care. All Don knew was that when he started to fall, Leatherhead had been there to catch him. Feeling those strong arms around him and hearing Leatherhead's deep soothing voice murmuring assurances was all Don needed.

Don was certain it was all he would ever need.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Leatherhead would have liked to carry Donatello back to the helicopter, but they needed him to force open the hangar door so that they could escape. It was Raphael who had gotten Don into the 'copter. Leatherhead made certain he was there to brace Don as Leonardo flew them away from Agent Bishop's secret base.

When Don had said he hoped they did not go through too much trouble for him, everyone had gone silent. Then Michelangelo had lied with a smile on his face.

Truth be told, there was nothing they wouldn't do for Donatello. That was certainly the case as far as Leatherhead was concerned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They rode back to the lair in the helicopter, Don and Leatherhead side by side. His brothers and father had finally grown quiet, no doubt exhausted after their harrowing experience.

Don slid his hand across the seat until it touched Leatherhead's. The crocodile looked down at him and then folded his hand over Don's.

There would be time when they got home to explore his burgeoning relationship with Leatherhead. He knew that the large mutant crocodile had feelings for him and Don meant to make sure that Leatherhead knew those feelings were reciprocated.

It had always been easy to call Leatherhead family. Don was now determined to call him something more; something meaningful. He knew in his deepest heart that Leatherhead felt the same.

They had certainly spent enough time coming to understand that about each other.


End file.
